The Orange Distortion pedal is same as the classic Orange Distortion pedal—at least on the outside. After all, apart from the modern tweaks of an added LED and a 9V DC input, this looks like a straight-up reboot of the 1970s relic, right down to its simple type stenciled onto the classic chunky aluminum shell to ape the original units. Under the hood, though, it’s a different story: the circuitry of this Orange Distortion has been rebuilt from the ground up, ditching the original’s back-to-back diode design and replacing it with an amp circuit including a tone stack, where bass and mids are preset but treble is user-adjustable via a little trimmer inside the casing. But the Orange Distortion pedal still has all the bite and growl and warmth and howl that you need for that classic 70s amp-like distortion, from vintage crunch to full saturation. With only two dials, for level and depth, but huge versatility, Orange Distortion can set up your sound for everything from a clean boost to warm and fat gravelly textures to red-hot trebly screamers and maximum saturation. There’s a sweet spot for Jimmy Page-style guitar heroics, and another for garage rock squall. In fact, every shade of grit and dirt is in there, as long as it’s vintage. Add in a hardwired switch that’s separate from the PCB and therefore super-easy to service, and you’ve got a vintage pedal fit for the modern age. It’s that level of attention to detail, combined with dedication to an era of crunching power chords that makes the pedal a perfect homage to one of rock’s golden ages, ready to be heard again with fresh ears. It might be an updated design, but with the Orange Distortion, the song remains the same.